NIC BASKETBALL: Cardinal men, women fall

EVERETT, Wash. — North Idaho College found the enviroment it was looking for — and nearly pulled out a victory — in a 90-86 loss to host Everett Community College to wrap up play at Everett’s tourney Sunday.

RayQuan Evans had 20 points, nine assists and five steals for NIC (3-1), which trailed by 13 points in the second half, before pulling within 2 points with under a minute left. Iaian McLaughlin added 22 points and eight boards off the bench for the Cardinals.

“We just couldn’t get into a rhythm, on the road, in a tough environment,” said NIC coach Corey Symons, who scheduled this tourney so his team could play at the site of the Northwest Athletic Conference tournament in March.

Everett (6-2) hit 13 3-pointers, four by Markieth Brown Jr., who finished with 18 points to lead six Trojans into double figures.

“We let them get too many good looks from outside,” Symons said. “But it was good for our young team to face some adversity, and be able to fight back.”

NIC next travels to the San Jose City College tournament, slated to play Monterrey on Thursday, San Francisco City College on Friday and host San Jose City College on Saturday.

BELLEVUE, Wash. — The Cardinals shot 34.4 percent (31 of 90) from the field and fell behind 43-26 at halftime en route to a loss to the Riverhawks (6-0) of Roseburg, Ore., on the final day of the Bellevue College Classic.

Cierra Dvorak had 24 points, eight assists and seven steals for NIC (4-2), which was outrebounded 53-28. Ronnie Harris and Sydney Hovde added 14 points each for the Cardinals, who rallied in the second half and nearly made it a one-possession game.

“We were able to force the action a little bit (in the second half),” NIC coach Chris Carlson said. “But they have to be one of the top dogs in the NWAC. They have two big kids (6-4 and 6-3) that are a load.”

One of those, Jordan Stotler, a Portland State commit, had 14 points and 19 rebounds for Umpqua, which won despite committing 35 turnovers. Taylor Stricklin hit five 3-pointers and scored 24 points for the Riverhawks, who shot 53.3 percent (32 of 60) from the floor.

“Really, we grew up a lot this weekend, even though we went 1-2,” Carlson said.

NIC returns to action Dec. 15-17 at an Northwest Athletic Conference crossover at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City, Ore. The Cardinals are scheduled to play Whatcom, Clackamas and Lower Columbia.

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